Pittsburgh Penguins Start 2026 Offseason with Two Big Re-Signings
On Thursday, May 7th, 2026, the Pittsburgh Penguins began their off-season by re-signing two players who had career years with the Penguins in 2025-2026. Forward Connor Dewar was brought back on a two-year contract with an average annual value of $2.25 million. This keeps the 26-year-old forward under contract with the Penguins through the 2027-2028 season. In his second year with the Penguins, the Canadian native played in 78 games, recording 14 goals, 16 assists, 30 points, and a plus-16 plus/minus. All of these were career highs for the young center, and his plus-16 led all forwards on the Penguins and ranked third on the team. The Penguins also re-signed defenseman Ilya Solovyov to a one-year contract, with an average annual value of $850,000. In 2025, Solovyov split time in Columbus and Pittsburgh, playing 16 games for the Blue Jackets and 14 for the Penguins. The 25-year-old Belarusian’s 30 games and eight points this season were both good for career highs, as he tallied his first career goal with the Blue Jackets as well. Both players were great young role players for the Penguins who came into their own as the season progressed.
Dewar's specialty came on Pittsburgh's penalty kill. He led the team in total short-handed ice time with 209:23, which helped the Penguins to finish the season with the sixth-best penalty kill at 81.4%. The five-foot-10 forward's stature didn't stop his aggressiveness, as he led all Penguins forwards with 144 hits, which ranked third on the team. The Minnesota Wild took Dewar with their 92nd overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, and his NHL debut came in 2021 for Minnesota. He has spent time with Toronto before landing in Pittsburgh, where he'll be calling home for at least another two seasons. Solovyov was more of a role player for Pittsburgh, and he played in 14 games for the Metropolitan Division's second seed. The six-foot-three defenseman was taken in the seventh round of the 2020 NHL Draft by the Calgary Flames, and in 2018, he served as the alternate captain for the World Under-18 Championship. Both players were helpful in Pittsburgh's playoff matchup, where Solovyov played in three of the six games, and Dewar added two goals. Dewar's role on Pittsburgh's fourth line helped that line excel, especially in the middle part of the season.
Both players return with the expectation that they will be important to the team moving forward, serving as "potential cogs" for a Penguins team that looks to maintain the contender status it gained this season. While many thought the Penguins would miss the playoffs, with the help of new head coach Dan Muse, who has been nominated for the 2026 Jack Adams Award, and Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas, they were able to build a new and young team to actually "flip the script" for the black and yellow in 2025-2026. Young, hungry, and already proving how impactful they can be, Dewar and Silovyov start Pittsburgh's long off-season of free agents. Both were unrestricted free agents, with an expectation that they would return on short-term, cheaper deals. The bigger questions towards players such as Noel Acciari, Anthony Mantha, and Evgeni Malkin remain unanswered and likely will for some time. The biggest concern is Malkin, who will turn 40 before the start of next season. Malkin has already stated that he will play another season, whether it's for Pittsburgh or not. The Pens have already locked up some important role players; now, a wait precedes the decision on Malkin.
